


The Adventures Of Rena Rouge & Carapace

by Anonymous



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-07 09:28:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18870433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: What if Master Fu chose Alya and Nino to wield Miraculous instead of Marinette and Adrien? This is my reimagining of the plot of the Adventures of Ladybug and Chat Noir with Alya and Nino. Lots of DjWifi/TurtleFox and a moderate amount of Adrienette





	1. Origins (Part 1)

Since the dawn of human existence, villains and tyrants have run amuck- those who seek to destroy, terrorize, and enslave. To protect against these evil souls, the universe provided an opposing force- the Miraculous. These most sacred of jewels have circulated from society to society for generations, always serving one purpose: to transform average humans with good hearts into something…  _miraculous._

This time, it was Paris needing protection from harm; Master Fu knew, as his own Kwami explained that he could sense Nooroo's presence in the City of Lights- though Nooroo's aura was very much dark. The elderly man knew that he could not fight it; it was well past his glory days.

"What should we do, Master? You can't go up against Nooroo's wielder alone. You are-" the Tortoise kwami stopped speaking as the old Guardian raised his hand.

"I know, Wayzzz. This isn't a battle I can fight," the old man acknowledged as he made his way over to the Gramophone. After punching in the secret code and revealing the mysterious box hidden within, the old man pondered over which Miraculous to put into circulation.

He really didn't  _want_  to put any more miraculous out into the world. Though he generally was a man of sound judgment, mistakes could always be made. Not one more miraculous could make its way into the hands of evil. Master Fu's brow furrowed as he carefully considered which miraculous to choose.

_The Ring of the Cat and the Earrings of the Ladybug? No… too powerful; too dangerous._

_The Bee Comb? No, it wouldn't be enough on its own, and the Peacock Miraculous has been missing for years. It would also be unwise to pair it with one of the Zodiac Miraculouses._

Master Fu's hand stopped over the necklace of the Fox, and his eyes softened as he picked it up. Examining the necklace, the elderly Miraculous holder knew what he must do. After carefully putting the necklace into a separate box, he turned to his own Kwami, a slightly sad smile gracing his aged features.

"Wayzzz, I'm afraid this is where our partnership comes to an end. It's time for the Turtle Miraculous to be passed on to a new Wielder." The old man told his long-time companion somberly. He would miss the kwami but knew this was the right decision to make.

"Master…?" The turtle kwami was slightly taken aback by his wielder's statement, though he trusted that the old man was making the right decision. Master Fu took off his bracelet, renouncing his title as the wielder of the turtle kwami, and put the bracelet in another separate box.

Now it was time to find the chosen.

* * *

"Good morning, Alya! Are you excited for your first day of school?" Marlena Cesaire greeted her daughter as the young brunette came into the kitchen.

The teenager gave her mom an excited smile, though she could feel knots tightening in her belly. "Can Majestia fly? Of course, I am, Mom! High school is no match for me," Alya exclaimed with a bright smile on her face. It wasn't a lie- she was very excited to start school at the College Francois-Dupont. However, it's never fun to be the new kid, and the pretty, young brunette was more than a little nervous about starting all over.

"You should be heading to school soon," Marlena's voice cut through her daughter's thoughts. "Here's your lunch, and I packed a few snacks for you to have throughout the day, as well. I'll not likely be home before you get off school, so here's the code so you can get in." the Chef handed her daughter a bagged lunch and a sticky-note with a number combination on it.

"Thanks, Mom!" Alya set down the bag and the note so she could put on her sneakers. Once finished, she grabbed a croissant for the road, picked up up her lunch, and headed out to face her first day at a new school. She didn't get far, however, before she ran smack-dab into a little old man, causing her to drop her croissant and him to drop his cane and two curious looking jewelry boxes.

"Oh no, Monsieur, I'm so sorry!" Alya exclaimed, bending down and picking the cane and the boxes for the old man. "I'm not usually so clumsy. Is this everything?"

The old man gratefully took his cane and the boxes back from the young lady. "Thank you, Mademoiselle. Yes, this is it."

"Ah, that's good. I have to head to school, have a nice day!" The teenager called as she departed from the old man, silently mourning the loss of her croissant. Oh well- the snacks her mom packed were would have to suffice until lunch.

Meanwhile, Master Fu watched the young brunette continue her journey, a curious expression gracing his wizened face.

* * *

The beginning of the new school year was no different than any other year for Nino Lahiffe. He got up, got ready, bade his family "adieu," and began his walk to school- just like he did every other year. Unlike most students, however, Nino was excited about the new beginning. The extroverted young man couldn't wait to catch up with his classmates and hear about everyone's summer vacation. Sure, homework was a drag, but with school came parties, class activities, and plenty of competitions. Summer was amazing, of course, but Nino couldn't wait to see his classmates on the daily again. Well, he could do without seeing Chloe, Nino chuckled to himself as he pushed the crosswalk button, having come to the end of the sidewalk.

The crosswalk sign soon flashed the image of a green person, and Nino began to cross when he noticed an elderly man struggling from the corner of his eye. Without any hesitation, Nino made his way over to the elder to lend him his arm, which the old man accepted gratefully.

"Thank you very much, young man. Paris could certainly use more young people like you," the man thanked Nino once the pair reached the other side of the street. Nino scratched the back of his neck bashfully; he hadn't done anything special, in his mind.

"You're welcome, sir. Thank you for the compliment! I have to get to school now- please take care!" Nino bade the man farewell as he continued to make his way the College Francois-Dupont, completely oblivious to how the old man straightened his posture, eyes a-twinkle with satisfaction. He'd found his chosen.

Nino arrived at school with plenty of to spare, and immediately took his usual seat in the back of the class. As soon as he sat down, however, Mme. Bustier called him out.

"Nino, why don't you sit in the front this year?" the teacher suggested cheerily, though Nino understood it was less of a true suggestion and more like an order in disguise. Sighing heavily, Nino picked his backpack up once more, trudged to the front of the class, and plopped down in one of the frontmost desks. Letting out a heavy sigh, Nino kissed the ability to listen to music during class goodbye.

* * *

Alya looked around her new class with excitement as her classmates filed in and took their seats around her. This would be her school for the next four years, and the people around her would be her classmates. Alya hope she could be friends with everyone-

"Why don't go you go sit next to that new girl over there?" a nasally, snarky voice broke through Alya's thoughts as a (probably fake) blonde gestured in her direction. The brunette shot the snooty girl a glare. Who did that girl think she was? From what Alya could observe, the blonde, along with her friend, was trying to bully one of their classmates into switching seats so they could sit there. The longer Alya watched the display, the angrier she became. Like Majestia, she could not stand idly by and watch bad people do bad things.

"Hey! Who died and made you Queen?" Alya demanded, marching up to the troublemaker, arms crossed across her chest. The girl laughed haughtily, tossing her (fake) blonde hair over her shoulder and leaning back on the desk behind her.

"Oooh, lookie here Sabrina, looks like we got a little miss goodie-two-shoes," she mocked, "What're you gonna do, four eyes? Tell on me?" the blonde smirked, causing Alya to grit her teeth. She couldn't stand people like her.

"Bite me. Come on," Alya grabbed the wrist of the black-haired girl, meaning to pull her with her to where Alya had been sitting. However, she accidentally yanked her a little bit  _too_  hard, and caused the girl to trip and drop the package of sweets she'd been holding. Whoops.

"Aaaahhh, I'm so sorry," The girl groaned as she slid into the seat next to Alya. Alya shook her head and gave the other girl a good-natured smile.

"Don't sweat it, girl! It's nothing to worry about." The brunette assured her deskmate. The other girl returned the smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"The way you handled Chloe was pretty cool, I so wish I could do that." she sighed, obviously still annoyed at the blonde, who evidently was named Chloe. Alya offered her partner another grin and shook her head.

"No, not like me! Like Majestia," Alya quickly pulled her phone out to show her new friend a picture of her favorite superheroine. "Majestia says that evil will always conquer if good people don't speak up. Well, we're the good people, and that Chloe girl is definitely evil in my book. You can't let her get to you, or else she wins!"

"Easier to say than to do," the girl pouted, though she was visibly less upset than before. "Chloe has a personal vendetta against me or something. She wants me to be miserable."

"Girl, she can only make you miserable if you let her! Don't let girls like her get under your skin." Alya continued to encourage her new friend. She dealt with her fair share of Chloes at her old school, and Alya wasn't about to let this Chloe become a problem- for her, or for anyone else.

Finally cracking a smile, the girl picked up the only macaron left in her box and split it, offering one half to Alya. "My name's Marinette."

Alya smiled back and accepted the gift, happy to have made a new friend. "Alya!"

The rest of homeroom passed without any disturbance, and Alya was pleased to note that the boy Chloe had wanted to sit in front of her never showed up. She chatted more with Marinette and found she liked her more by the minute. She learned that Marinette's parents ran a bakery nearby and that her dream job was to be a fashion designer. Though, with her flawless skin, silky hair, and forget-me-not eyes, Alya reckoned Marinette could be a fashion model if she really wanted to be. The bell had rung for next period, and Alya gathered up her stuff to head to the library. She and Marinette were just about to leave when-

"Piss off, Kim!" an extremely large boy bellowed from the back of the classroom grabbing an athletic looking boy (whom Alya assumed was Kim) by the collar and postured to punch him.

"Ivan! What're you doing? Let him go right now!" Mme. Bustier exclaimed, causing Ivan to release Kim. Flushed red from anger, Ivan pointed an accusing finger at Kim.

"But Kim- Oh, why I ought to…" overcome once again with rage, Ivan grabbed Kim's collar with both hands.

"Ivan! That's enough! This is no way to behave at school. Go to Mr. Damocles' office immediately!" Mme. Bustier ordered sternly. Ivan let go of Kim, and with one last scalding look at the other boy, marched angrily out of the classroom.

"Oh dear, poor Ivan…" Alya heard Marinette mumble, obviously empathetic towards the tall boy. Alya smiled and gave Marinette a pat on the back.

"Don't worry about him, girl. He's a big boy, he'll be okay. Let's head to study hall, yeah?" Alya suggested, and Marinette nodded in response. The pair made their way to the library, found themselves a table, and began to discuss the classes they were taking that semester. Alya was just about to ask her new friend about school clubs when there was a giant  _boom_ , and before Alya knew it, she was thrown from her seat. Without missing a beat, Alya grabbed Marinette's arm and ran over to the nearest window to see what on earth was happening. A giant stone man was just outside the school, stomping and yelling. Had he not been so large and, well, terrifying, Alya would have compared him to a petulant child having a tantrum. It. Was. So. Cool.

"I-Ivan?" Marinette stammered incredulously, pointing down at the giant stone man. "That's Ivan! The monster has Ivan's voice!"

"Ohmigosh! It's like he's turned into a real-life supervillain! Girl- I  _have_ to go check this out!" Alya all but squealed, making a dash for the exit of the library.

"W-wait! You're going out there? Is that safe?" Marinette implored, nervously glancing out the window at the monster that Ivan had become. Alya shook her head and waved Marinette's concerns away, not worried in the slightest.

"Don't worry about it, Marinette! If there's a supervillain, there is  _always_ a superhero. I'll catch you later! Don't wait up!" Alya bade her friend farewell and was making her way towards the school door when her phone started buzzing. Alya checked to see who it was, and almost audibly groaned.  _Nora._

"Hey, Nora! What's up?" Alya answered her phone, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"Hey yourself, little sis. Are you heading home? You need to head home." Alya's overprotective older sister demanded, causing the young brunette to roll her eyes.

"Why would I need to head home? It's the middle of the day. School doesn't end for another three hours!" Alya protested, playing dumb.

"Ha, nice try, Alya. It's all over the news. Come home." Nora repeated, though she sounded slightly amused with her younger sister's antics.

"Forget it, Nora. You're my older sister, not my mom. It's not like I'm going to get hurt or anything- I'm sure a superhero is going to show up any minute! I need to record it when it happens!" Alya argued back, peeking out of the school's door, trying to get another look at Stoneheart. She was certain that at any moment, a Majestia-esque superheroine would come flying through the sky to take down her classmate-turned-supervillain.

"Oh, you want to go there, little sis? If you're not home in fifteen minutes, I'll call mom. How does that sound?" the elder sister threatened, causing Alya to stop in her tracks.

"Ugh, fine, I'm coming home. You're the worst," Alya exclaimed, evoking a laugh from the other line.

"You'll thank me later, trust me. I'll see you in a bit!"

Alya rolled her eyes and huffed. "Yeah, I'm sure. See ya." Clicking the "call end" button on her phone, Alya finally exited the school and began her journey home- the  _opposite_  direction of Stoneheart. When the brunette heard the large stone man begin throwing cars, she flinched. Maybe she would thank Nora, after all.

* * *

Nino had wasted no time getting back home after Ivan turned into a giant rock monster. Marvel movies might be cool, but the teen boy had no intention of finding himself caught up in one. He currently was at home, in his room, listening to his music. He'd heard a girl in the library proclaiming that Ivan turning into a supervillain meant that there  _had_  to be a superhero around Paris, somewhere. Nino hoped she was right; he didn't know Ivan very well, despite having been in the same class since elementary school, but Nino knew his large classmate didn't deserve what happened to him.

Nino didn't spend much more time mulling over his thoughts on the fate of his long time classmate, however. Something on his desk caught his eye, something that Nino definitely didn't remember being there before. Nino picked himself off his bed and approached his desk. Resting next to his computer was a tiny black jewelry box, covered in intricate Chinese symbols and designs.

"Dude…" The teen mumbled to himself as he examined the curious box. He  _definitely_  didn't own anything like this- and as far as he knew, no one else in his family did, either. Curious to see what was inside, Nino opened the little black box.

Alya sat disgruntled in her room, flipping through an old X-men comic impatiently. She wanted to turn the News on as soon as she'd gotten home, but Nora was already watching UFC and refused to change the channel.

"She could let me use the TV. It would be the least she could do," Alya muttered to herself, annoyed over her perceived loss. Sighing, Alya set the comic down on her nightstand, accidentally knocking over a small black jewelry box that had been resting there. Wait- when did that get there? Alya picked the black box up off the floor and examined it. It certainly was peculiar, like something you'd find in an antique shop. There were Chinese symbols printed all over the box in gleaming red. Having never studied Chinese, the young brunette had no idea what they said, though they seemed to be there for more than mere aesthetic purposes. Curious to see if anything was inside, Alya opened the box.

"Woah, dude!" Nino dropped the box in surprise when a tiny, green…. Thing popped out of it. It stared at him; he stared at it, completely confused. Was he being pranked? His mom certainly had a taste for them. After a few moments, the weird green creature spoke.

"Hello, Nino. I am Wayzz. I am the Turtle Kwami, and you've been chosen to wield my Miraculous." The "kwami" told the teenaged boy, his voice calm and even. Nino didn't say anything, he simply continued staring at the kwami incredulously. When it was clear that the boy wasn't going to say anything, Wayzz continued.

"You've been chosen to wield the miraculous of protection, as I said. You will fight akumas created by Hawkmoth, the wielder of the Butterfly Miraculous, and you will protect the city of Paris," Wayzz went on, glancing back at Nino, who was now sitting on his bed. Compared to some of his wielders, this boy certainly was taking it well. At least he wasn't screaming.

* * *

"OHMIGOSH OHMIGOSH OHMIGOSH!" Alya squealed, cupping a tiny, fox-like creature in her hands. "This is  **so cool**! I have to tell Marinette about this!"

"No, no, no!" The tiny creature flew out of Alya's hands. "Don't do that! I agree, I'm pretty cool, but you're the only one who can know about me!" The creature did a little bow. "My name is Trixx, and I'm gonna be your kwami!"

"Kwami? What does that mean?" Alya inquired enthusiastically. This had to be the best first day of school, ever.

"It means that you're going to put on my necklace," Trixx gestured to the foxtail necklace still resting within the black box, "and I'm going to grant you the special power of illusion. Then, we're going to kick butt together, and bring down all the bad guys!"

"I'm going to be a superhero?!" Alya could hardly believe her ears. This was like a dream come true! Without hesitation, the brunette teenager clasped the foxtail necklace around her neck. "Now what?"

"Well, you'll say 'Trixx, let's pounce,' but I'm not done-" The kwami was cut off by her over-enthusiastic holder.

"Trixx, let's pounce!" Alya cheered, causing Trixx to be sucked into the necklace. Her clothes melted into a fox-orange suit, her hair grew into a long multicolored ponytail, and an orange mask appeared over her eyes. Once the transformation was complete, Alya admired her new form in her bedroom mirror.

"This is so sick," the teenage superheroine was nearly giddy with delight at her new responsibilities. "Stoneheart, you are  _so_ going down."

With that, the fox-themed superheroine jumped out of her bedroom window, red and white hair flying freely behind her.

* * *

"Alright, alright, I got it," Nino nodded in understanding after Wayzz finished describing his responsibilities and powers as the Turtle Miraculous holder. "So I just put on this bracelet, say 'Shell On', and I'll turn into Turtle Captain America?"

The turtle kwami nodded. "Yes, that's the gist of it. And, you will have a partner. The fox miraculous holder." Nino nodded in response; that made him feel better. It would be kind of stressful to protect Paris all on his own. Nino slipped the turtle bracelet on his wrist, and with one last deep breath, invoked his transformation.

Before the teenager knew it, he was clad in green, sporting goggles on his face and a giant shell shield on his back. Nino examined his hands in wonderment, not knowing quite how to feel about these most recent developments.

"Alright, dude, c'mon. We gotta go save Ivan from the Hawkmoth guy." Nino murmured to himself, before climbing out his window and jumping onto the roof of the building next to him and heading towards the College Francois-Dupont. With his enhanced abilities, it didn't take long for the superhero to reach the school, where an akumatized Ivan still was wreaking havoc. Nino quickly spied an orange-clad girl evacuating students whom still were trapped in the school. That had to be his partner.

Wasting no time, the turtle-themed superhero jumped down to assist his newfound peer in helping one of his classmates escape. Noticing Stoneheart closing in on the Superheroine and the civilian, Nino thought fast and darted in front of the two, using his shield to deflect Stoneheart's attack, effectively allowing his classmate to escape and catching the attention of the fox-like girl in orange. Up close, Nino noticed how pretty she was. Her auburn hair faded into orange and white, like the tail of a fox. Her tanned complexion was dotted with golden freckles, and her orange mask only seemed to compliment the doll-like hazel eyes peering up at him. She was absolutely stunning. Then she opened her mouth.

"Hey, my kwami didn't tell me I'd get a sidekick! That's so cool!" The superheroine enthused, taking Nino aback. He'd be a sidekick over his dead body.

"Dude- I'm not a sidekick. We're supposed to be partners." He corrected her as politely as he could, frowning. The superheroine simply rolled her eyes.

"Please, every superhero needs a sidekick- and what sort of Superhero says 'dude'? Don't worry Shelly- you'll make a great sidekick!" She replied, tossing a lock of auburn hair over her shoulder. Nino took a deep breath; something told him that he may not get along very well with the other miraculous holder.

"My name isn't Shelly, it's Carapace," Nino corrected. Sure, he came up with the name on the spot, but he wasn't going to go by  _Shelly_  as his Superhero alter ego. Screw that. "And we'll see who the sidekick is, Fox." Nino gave the decidedly annoying superheroine a sarcastic bow, before jumping after Stoneheart, who was moving quickly towards the stadium near the school.

* * *

"Hey! Wait up!" Alya cried indignantly, following the other miraculous holder- Carapace. She felt a little bad that he got upset, but she was just teasing! It wasn't like she actually expected him to act like a sidekick. She'd simply have to apologize after  _she_  defeated Stoneheart. She may have told a bad joke, but he threw down the gauntlet, and there was no way Alya was going to lose to a Superhero with turtle powers, of all things. Alya flung herself at Stoneheart with reckless abandon, using her flute as a bo staff and doing her best to beat the snot out of the giant stone man.

"What are you doing?" Carapace exclaimed from below, where he was protecting and evacuating the students on the field. "Haven't you noticed he gets bigger every time you hit 'im? Cut it out!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Alya called back, though she ceased her attacks. The turtle was right- Stoneheart grew larger and larger every time she landed a hit. Time to think of a plan B.

Stoneheart, meanwhile, was thumping his chest like a gorilla made of stone and shrieking for Kim. If the situation wasn't so dire, and if Stoneheart hadn't already caused thousands of dollars in property damage, Alya would have found the sight hilarious. She hopped down next to Carapace, who just finished helping a terrified Rose make it to safety.

"Well, Shelly, do you have a better idea? How do we defeat him?" the auburn-haired superhero inquired, earning a withering glance from her turtle-themed counterpart.

"Uh, yeah. We need to find the akumatized item. Didn't your kwami tell you anything? Just hitting 'im isn't going to do anything but tire you out and make him angrier." Carapace told her, his gaze turning back towards the akuma. Alya did the same, looking Stoneheart up and down. There wasn't anywhere he could hide an item, unless… wait.

"Hey look- he doesn't open his right fist. He's probably hiding it there." Alya pointed to Stoneheart's fist, which was indeed clenched tightly around something.

"Alright dude, that's great, but how're we going to get him to drop it?" Carapace asked, his arms folded over his chest.

"I'm working on an idea," Alya responded, whipping her flute out and holding it up to her lips. She played a few notes, causing a ball of light to appear at the end of the instrument. Once the orb grew to roughly the size of a golf ball, Alya flung it in Stoneheart's direction. "Mirage!"

As soon as the incantation was spoken, the ball of light immediately took on the shape of Kim. Stoneheart immediately began chasing after fake Kim, the mere sight of the athletic high schooler sending the akuma into a fury. Fake-Kim, meanwhile, danced and dodged around the giant stone man, taunting him as he tried to swipe up the boy to no avail. Alya watched and waited, hoping that her plan would work.

It did. As Fake-Kim darted in between Stoneheart's legs, the increasingly frustrated Akuma reached out for the illusion of the teenage boy with his right hand, dropping the akumatized item. Before Alya could leap towards what looked like a crumpled up piece of paper, she felt a breeze brush past her and saw a blur of green out of the corner of her eye. Carapace darted towards the akumatized item and without missing a beat, snatched it up and tore it in two. A small black butterfly emerged from torn paper and began to fly away.

"Uhh… What should we do about that?" Alya questioned as she approached Carapace, momentarily forgetting her anger at him for stealing her hard work.

"I dunno, dude. Just let it fly away? My kwami didn't say anything about what to do with the akumas." The green-clad boy shrugged, not seeming to care one way or the other.

"Well, now that that's cleared up…" Alya whacked Carapace upside the head. "What the heck! I did all the work, I should have gotten to rip the akumatized item! Totally not cool And- and- stop saying 'dude,' it's so unsuperherolike. Be professional!" she exclaimed angrily, evoking a smirk from Carapace.

"Dude, you did not do all the work. And even if you did, isn't that what  _sidekicks_  are for? Doing all the heavy lifting so their Superhero can get the glory?" Carapace's smirk grew wider as Alya grew angrier. "And don't lecture me on what's 'unsuperherolike,' dude. Your power is putting people on LSD."

"Why you-"

"U-um, excuse me!" A scrawny, raven-haired boy spoke up, interrupting the superheroes' squabble. Alya recognized him from class, though she couldn't remember his name.

"Yeah, dude? 'Sup?" Carapace greeted the civilian, causing the boy to flush red.

"I-I, I w-was… I w-was w-wondering i-if I, I could get, could get your names, f-for, um, myarticle." The boy stammered out, gesturing to the notepad he was holding in his hands.

"No problem dude! I'm Carapace. Her name's Foxturd, and she's-"

"My name is NOT Foxdturd!" Alya protested, disgusted. "It's.. It's.. Rena Rouge, and I-" Her necklace beeped, warning her of her inevitable detransformation. "I gotta go. Carapace, can you manage taking care of the victim?"

"No problem, dude. I got 'im. See ya later, Sidekick."

With one last glare in the direction of the increasingly irritating Carapace, Rena Rouge hopped away and out of sight.

* * *

"Hey dude, how're you feeling?" Carapace approached the now sulking Ivan after Rena Rouge had lept away and Marc had asked his questions. Ivan shrugged dejectedly, obviously humiliated by everything that had happened. Carapace sat down next to the large teenager and clapped a hand on his back, hoping to cheer him up. "I'm sure Kim didn't mean whatever he said to get you mad, dude."

"Yeah, I know, but what he said was true. 'You can't even tell Mylène you love her,' he wrote- and it's true. I can't. I know I shouldn't have gotten so mad, but…" Ivan trailed off, his eyes cast down.

"Hey man, it doesn't have to be true! I'm sure the girl you're talking about likes you too. What's not to like, right?" Carapace replied, doing his best to cheer his classmate up. Ivan gave him a feeble smile, thankful for the effort.

"Maybe, she did, but not anymore. I mean, look." Ivan gestured at the destruction his akumatized-self had caused. "This is all my fault. If I were her, I'd be scared of me."

"Dude, this is  _not_  your fault. Something exploited your worst emotions and made you do its bidding. Don't blame yourself." Carapace told the boy resolutely, standing up. "You should probably be heading home. I'm sure your folks are worried about you, dude. Are you good to get home by yourself, or would you like an escort?"

"Nah, I'm fine to go home by myself. Thanks, um-"

"Carapace."

"Thanks, Carapace." Ivan stood up himself, waved goodbye, and lumbered away. Carapace stayed a few moments to make sure there were no students that remained in the destroyed stadium. Only once he was satisfied that no one else was there and everyone had been safely evacuated did the turtle themed superhero leap away, heading towards his own home.

Nino crashed onto his bed, utterly exhausted from the events of the day. Wayzz hovered above him, munching on a Dorito chip.

"You know, I like vegetables more than chips," Wayzz muttered between bites as he landed on top of Nino's forehead.

"Sorry dude, I grabbed the first thing I saw in the pantry. I'll get you vegetables next time." Nino apologized, taking off his glasses so he could comfortably roll onto his side. "Man, today was wild. Is that how it's gonna be from now on?" Wayzz nodded in response.

"Indeed, and Hawkmoth only will create more and more powerful akumas. You must be prepared." The turtle kwami confirmed as he finished his Dorito chip. "Tell me, Nino, what did you and the Fox Miraculous holder do with the akuma? Did you capture it?"

"Uh, no, dude. Neither you nor her kwami mentioned what to do with it. We just let it fly away. It's not like it can hurt anybody now, anyway." Nino replied to the small God, who flew straight in front of his face.

"No, that's wrong! It hurt a lot of people if it's not contained and brought to the Master!" Wayzz exclaimed, buzzing around worriedly.

"Sorry dude, you didn't mention what we were supposed to do with it. What should we do now?" Nino sat up, seized by a sense of urgency. He wasn't prepared to let the akuma destroy more of the city than it already had that afternoon.

"Right now we should wait. The most important thing is making sure that boy doesn't become reakumatized. Tomorrow, you'll keep an eye on him an eye on him, and then we'll go capture it after you're done with school-" Wayzz instruction was interrupted by a  _ping!_  from Nino's iPhone:  **Parisians mysteriously turned into Stone beings. Where are our Superheroes?**

"Well, dude. I hope we find the akuma quickly," the teenager muttered as he skimmed through the article, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach. Somehow, Nino couldn't help but feel that this was all his fault.

_EPISODE ONE FIN._


	2. Origins (Part 2)

"What do you mean, we were supposed to capture the Akuma?" Alya fretted to Trixx as she paced back and forth. All had been well for the brunette after leaving the stadium- she detransformed in a public restroom, and enjoyed a lovely walk home. All of that ended, however, when upon approaching her apartment building, Alya had watched her older sister transform into a giant, unmoving stone person right before her eyes.

"It's not my fault Wayzz didn't tell his wielder!" Trixx whined as she flew to and fro, following Alya's movements. "He's the one who hangs out with Master all the time! He would have known!"

"Well, what do we do now?" Alya asked the kwami, panic rising in her tone. Who knew how many Parisians had been turned into stone statues? What if one of her parents were turned? What if Marinette was turned, What if-

"Alya, please calm down!" Trixx flew in front of the panicking teenager's face and booped her on the nose. "We can fix this, I promise! First, I need to recharge. Do you have anything spicy? Like chili peppers?" Alya nodded in response, her wide hazel eyes still locked on the stone statue that once was her sister. Without speaking, the teenager rushed up to her apartment, kwami in tow. No sooner did she enter the apartment was she met with a bone-crushing hug from her father.

"Where have you been, lass? Yer mum and I have been so worried!" The usually stoic man exclaimed as he clutched his second daughter close to his chest. "Ye could've been crushed! Ye could've turned into one of those!" The man pointed to the TV, where images of the many Parisians turned into stone beings were being shown whilst Nadja Chamack spoke about the strange occurrence.

"Don't worry dad, I'm fine. You might want to worry more about Nora than me." Alya told her father, breaking free from his grip and looking down in shame. She had superpowers now, but she couldn't even protect her own sister. "I'm just going to grab a snack and go to my room. I want to call my friend and make sure she's okay."

Otis nodded absentmindedly, obviously worried by the current events of the day. "Aye, lass, you do that. I hope yer mum gets home with the girls soon. I'm worried about them," the man mumbled, sitting back down on the sofa and continuing to watch the news with nervous attention. Alya quickly grabbed a jar of chili peppers and headed to her room. While Trixx was munching on the peppers, Alya dialed Marinette's number and gave her a call. She couldn't forgive herself if something happened to her new friend- she wasn't even sure if she could forgive herself for what happened to her sister.

"Hello?" Marinette picked up the phone, causing Alya to sigh in relief. Thank goodness!

"Hey! It's Alya. I just wanted to make sure you got home okay. Sorry for ditching you earlier today, girl. I didn't think it would be so crazy," the brunette apologized, happy that her friend was safe.

"It's no problem, Alya! I was just about to do the same. Don't worry about it, you were right- it seems Paris does have Superheroes now, after all. Though, it seems we need them again already," Marinette laughed nervously.

"Yeah, those Stone Beings are scary, aren't they? My older sister was turned into one, and my mom and sisters aren't home yet. My dad's really worried. Hey- I have to go," Alya began to excuse herself from the call when she saw that Trixx was finished with the jar of Chili peppers. "I'll see you in class tomorrow, 'kay?"

"Okay! See you tomorrow, Alya. Mama says you're welcome to come over after school if you'd like."

"That sounds great, let's plan on that. See you tomorrow, bye!" Alya clicked the 'end call button' before turning to Trixx, who still was smacking her lips from her very spicy meal.

"Alright, you've recharged. Now what?" Alya inquired of the tiny trickster God, anxious to return the Parisians-turned-Stone back to their normal state. Trixx gave her a small smile and once more booped her nose.

"Now you get to recharge! We can take care of the Stone Beings tomorrow. It's really heroic of you to want to do this all as soon as possible, but it'll be no use if Rena Rouge is too tired to pick up her flute." Trixx told her ward, nudging Alya towards her bed.

"But I- we need to-" Alya tried to protest, though she knew the kwami was right. She'd be no help to anyone if she was exhausted, and she was aiming to decimate Carapace. She'd show him who the sidekick was! "Fine. We can deal with it tomorrow. I just hope I haven't messed everything up permanently." Trixx shook her head, still giving the girl small nudges towards the bed.

"You haven't done anything wrong, Alya. Hawkmoth is the one hurting those people. Not you." Trixx reminded the brunette, who nodded in response.

"Thank you, Trixx." Alya offered the kwami a small smile before going to get ready for bed.

* * *

The next day, Nino was at school earlier than he'd ever been before in his life. He usually did his best to slide into his seat right before the school bell rings- as much as he enjoyed socializing with his classmates, early mornings were not Nino's friend. However, the teenaged boy wanted to make sure Ivan stayed positive and unakumatized more than he wanted to sleep in 15 extra minutes. Unfortunately, when Nino found Ivan, the boy was being mobbed by their fellow classmates, all eager to talk about yesterday's occurrences.

"You were going ballistic. It. was. So. cool!" Juleka all but squealed, lit up with excitement that was rare for the normally stoic teenager.

"Yeah, man, you were totally trying to crush me!" Kim added, causing Ivan to visibly shrink into himself.

"Uh, sorry, Kim. I wasn't myself." Ivan mumbled an apology, which Kim waved off good-naturedly.

"Nah dude, it's cool! It got us out of school, yeah? That's a win in my book." the athletic teenager laughed, causing Ivan to slightly relax. No sooner did he, though, did Chloe open her mouth.

"Well, if you ask  _me_ , it's not 'all cool.' He's a monster and should be restrained." the snooty blonde sneered at Ivan. Without so much as a warning, the much larger boy got up and stormed off. Nino glared at Chloe. He truly had never met anyone meaner.

"Chloe, that was-" the teenager began to tell his classmate off but was interrupted by the new girl from yesterday, who was advancing on Chloe quickly with Marinette in tow, pretty hazel eyes narrowed into an angry glower.

"If you want to talk about monsters, take a look in the mirror, Chloe. You don't have to be such a witch!" the girl practically snarled at Chloe, causing the prissy girl to laugh haughtily.

"Careful everyone, Super-Newbie here is gonna split her panties and turn into the hulk! I'm soo scared!"

"Why you-"

"Alya, no! She's not worth it!"

Figuring that Marinette and the new girl -Alya- had dealing with Chloe covered, Nino headed off in the direction Ivan headed. He found the boy slouched in the boys' locker room; he looked like a kicked puppy.

"Ivan, dude, you gotta ignore what Chloe says. You know she's the worst!" Nino told him, crouching down next to his classmate. Ivan offered him a weak smile, obviously still discouraged.

"Thanks, Nino, but you should've seen how Mylène looked at me. She thinks I'm a monster, too." Ivan sighed dejectedly. Nino shook his head and stood up, offering Ivan his hand.

"You got it all wrong, dude. I'm sure Mylène likes you! She's just like, shy. Maybe you should do something for her, y'know?" He encouraged; Ivan gave him a small smile and accepted Nino's hand, letting the much shorter boy hoist him to his feet.

"Thanks, Nino," Ivan thanked him, "Maybe I'll write her a song! I should probably go get some paper- I'll catch you later!" The much happier boy bade Nino farewell, happy and relieved that Ivan was feeling less dejected. With his self-appointed job finished, Nino continued on his way to class.

* * *

Surprisingly, Nino made it into class before most of his classmates- he assumed they were preoccupied with the fracas downstairs. The boy slid into his front-row seat and popped his headphones on, planning on listening to some tunes before class started, when low and behold, Chloe burst into class. She was hanging onto the arm of a boy that Nino never met before. Nino figured he must be famous or rich, and he wanted nothing to do with him.

"Look, Adrikins! I saved this seat especially for you! You'll be sitting right in front of moi~" Chloe squealed, gesturing to the seat right next to Nino. So much for having nothing to do with this kid. 'Adrikins' sat down next to Nino, seemingly awestruck by his surroundings, as if this was his first time setting foot in a school in his life.

"Hi! I'm Adrien, it's nice to meet you." Adrikins- er, Adrien offered his hand for Nino to shake. Nino gave his hand a hard stare, before looking back up at Adrien.

"So. You're a friend of Chloe's, huh?" Nino deadpanned, before going back to his music. Adrien opened his mouth to say something else but was interrupted by the cackling- laughing, of Chloe behind them. She had ordered Sabrina to stick a freshly chewed up wad of gum onto Marinette's seat. Nino opened his mouth to tell Chloe off, but surprisingly, Adrien beat him to the punch.

"Chloe! What are you doing? That's not nice!" the blond exclaimed, standing up. He walked over to the other desk and crouched down, trying to unstick the gum from the seat.

"Oh Adrikins, you're so adorable! The brats that sat here yesterday need to be taught their place. You have  _so_  much to learn about high school." Chloe replied, waving her hand dismissively. Adrien didn't say anything back but kept attempting to remove the wad of gum from the desk. Nino, thoroughly impressed that Chloe knew someone who wasn't a flaming POS, was about to suggest Adrien use a tissue to pick it up, when Marinette and Alya entered the room.

From their perspective, Nino knew what it looked like, and it was pretty bad. He watched as the two girls went from happy to irritated in 0.2 seconds flat. Alya's fists clenched, her brunette hair almost seeming to bristle. Nino could've sworn she was about to lay into the other addition to the classroom, when to his surprise, Marinette stomped up to Adrien.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" the normally timid girl demanded, hands planted firmly on her hips. Nino could see the color leave Adrien's face as he began to sputter, and Chloe and Sabrina began to laugh. Forming her own conclusions, Marinette rolled her eyes.

"Hahaha, very funny. Nice job." Marinette drawled sarcastically, causing Adrien to stand up and shake his head.

"No, I was just trying to remove the gum!" the blond defended, though it was obvious that the two girls didn't believe him.

"You should tell them what really happened," Wayzz murmured from his hiding spot in Nino's front pocket. Nino shook his head, trying to be discreet about talking to the kwami.

"No way dude, I don't want to die," Nino whispered back. When he looked back up, Adrien was seated back down next to him, and Marinette and Alya had taken their seats, sitting closer than normal to avoid sitting on the tissue-covered wad of gum.

"Dude, why didn't you tell them it was Chloe's fault?" Nino asked his deskmate, who seemed a little dejected. Nino felt a twang of guilt for how he treated the poor sap earlier- it's not he'd ever done anything to Nino.

"Chloe's my only friend," the blond shrugged, "I don't want to get her into more trouble than she already gets herself in."

"Well dude, it's high time you had new friends. I'm Nino!" the brunet offered his hand to his blond deskmate, who accepted the offer with a grin. Nino couldn't help but grin back.

* * *

"That guy seems familiar to me, but I don't know where I could have seen him before…" Marinette mumbled, still seething from the events that just took place. Alya nodded, bringing up Agreste ads on her phone. The boy was on every billboard in Paris!

"Girl, that's Adrien Agreste- look!" Alya gave her phone to Marinette, who swiped through the different pictures, her eyes widening with every one.

"How did I not realize? He's the son of my favorite fashion designer! His dad is a genius," the raven-haired girl exclaimed, handing Alya her phone back.

"Rich, daddy's boy, and friends with Chloe? I wouldn't go near  _that_  with an eleven-foot pole." Alya snorted, and Marinette nodded her head in fervent agreement.

"I think you're judging him too harshly, Alya! He said he didn't put the gum on the seat!" Trixx whispered from within Alya's hair, where she was hiding. Unfortunately, Alya didn't have many places on her person to hide the little kwami, and Trixx was averse to staying in Alya's locker. The only place either could think to hide the mischievous little God was in her hair. Alya tucked Trixx further back under her locks, acutely aware of Marinette right beside her.

"Shhh, Marinette's right there-"

"Hm, Alya?" Marinette gave Alya a confused look, having heard her deskmate utter her name. Alya flushed, embarrassed to have been caught whispering to her hair. How weird must that have looked?

"I was just wondering where your house is," Alya laughed nervously, "We're still on for after school, right?"

"Right! But you know you can just walk with me, right?" Marinette giggled. Alya joined in, though her laughter still had a nervous edge. The two girls continued to chat and plan their afternoon as Mme. Bustier entered the room and began to call role. Upon calling Adrien's name, Alya noted that he didn't seem to know what to do until his deskmate gave him a hint. She remembered him as the boy who went after Ivan earlier that morning. He seemed nice- she'd have to go introduce herself later.

"Ivan Brue-" Mme. Bustier began to read off Ivan's name but was interrupted by the classroom door being knocked off its hinges by Ivan, freshly reakumatized into Stoneheart. Alya's expression tensed; her hands curled up into fists in her lap. So much for catching the akuma before it got to Ivan again.

"PRESENT!" Stoneheart boomed, before stomping over to Mylene. Students began to stumble out of their desk, dashing to the classroom exit.

"I-Ivan, what's happened to you?!" Alya heard Mylene ask incredulously, fear evident in her voice. The brunette didn't pick up what the akumatized Ivan said back, but he picked up the now-panicking Mylene. Alya watched in horror as the akuma made its way over and past her and Marinette's desk to Chloe, who was preoccupied with trying to get her father to call in the army. Without hesitation, Stoneheart captured the bleach blonde, knocking her phone out of her hand in the process. The giant Stone Man then did a running jump out of the classroom window, shattering the class and breaking the outside wall in the process.

As Stoneheart lept from the third story window, Alya noticed a turtle-shaped green blur shoot after him, causing the brunette to stand up in indignation.  _How on earth did Shelly get here so fast?_ Alya so was not going to let that fly.

"I'm going after him. You wanna come? " Alya announced to her friend, who as expected, began to shake her head violently.

"You can go on ahead- I'm gonna find a safe place to hide," Marinette replied, glancing nervously over at the shattered window.

"Your loss, girl- I'll catch up later, promise!" Alya bade her friend adieu before making her way out of the classroom. The brunette quickly found a restroom, and as soon as they were alone, Trixx popped out of her hair.

"C'mon Trixx, I'm not going to let Shelly steal our limelight again." Alya declared, earning a small 'ahem' from the kwami.

"Well, we're also going to save Ivan and dispose of the akuma. Showing Turtleboy whats what is just an extra perk," she amended with a sheepish smile.

"That's more like it! Remember: You have to catch the Akuma and put it into a container. Like a paper or plastic bag. Anything that subdues it will work. I'll tell you what to do, okay?" Trixx told her ward, who nodded in understanding.

"Got it! Alright Trixx, let's pounce!"

* * *

Rena Rouge took no time catching up to Carapace and Stoneheart. Though her kind-of partner kind-of rival was in hot pursuit of Stoneheart and his hostages, there were many Stone Beings detaining him. Perfect- he could keep the Beings busy, and she could save the day. Without hesitation, Rena whipped her flute out and flung herself towards the akumatized Ivan, preparing to hit him with all her strength.

"What are you doing?!" Carapace called out between blows, noticing that his partner-rival had joined the fray. "Rena- dude- NO!" the boy cried, but it was too late. Rena's flute-turned-bo-staff made impact with Stoneheart's rock-hard flesh. The monstrous akuma immediately grew twice in size and batted Rena Rouge away like a fly, sending the teenage superheroine flying into a building. It didn't hurt quite as badly as Rena thought it would, and she didn't die- she was sure she had Trixx to thank for that- but the impact left the girl gasping for air for several moments. Carapace, though visibly irritated, left the two stone beings he'd been fighting to help Rena up.

"Sorry, Shelly. I forgot about that," Rena laughed nervously, giving Carapace a sheepish smile.

"Well, what's done is done, dude. He seems to be heading towards the Eiffel Tower. Can you use your Mirage to lure the Stone Beings away from him? Then I can get Stoneheart alone. As soon as you're done with the Beings, circle back to the Eiffel Tower as soon as you can- it'll be easier to get the akumatized item that way."

"Um, super fun idea, but there's a few things wrong with it. Firstly: I'm  _not_ a sidekick-"

"Dude, really? That's not important right-"

"Let me finish. It would make more sense to use your power to fend off the Beings. My kwami's told me your miraculous creates a shield. Use that shield to cut Stoneheart off from the Beings, that way we'll have a better shot at rescuing Mylène and Chloe."

"That's not a bad idea," Carapace conceded. "But like you can't keep your Mirage going forever, I can't keep my Shelter up forever. We'll have to work fast. Why don't you use Mirage on Stoneheart, then? He likes Mylène. Can you work with that?"

Rena gave Carapace a playful salute. "Sure can, Turtle Boy."

"Alright then, let's do this, dude." Carapace returned her salute, grinning. Without another moment of hesitation, the pair of heroes continued their pursuit of the Akuma.

* * *

"We're giving you the count of 10 to return Mayor Bourgeois' daughter!" Carapace heard the Chief of Police demand through a megaphone as he and Rena Rouge approached the Eiffel Tower, where a circle of police cars and a  _tank_  surrounded Stoneheart. A squad of policeman stood behind the Chief of Police, as well as the Mayor himself.

"You want her? Take her!" Stoneheart roared, hurling the teenage nightmare in the direction of the policemen and Mayor.

"Oh crap," Carapace heard Rena curse, before the girl sprung from the building where they were perched and snatched Chloe out of the air. Carapace jumped down to follow Rena to where the police were gathered. Rena let go of Chloe, who went running straight into her father's arms. Once the Mayor assessed that his daughter was unharmed, he gave a nod to his Chief, who then turned to gesture to the Tank.

"On my mark!" The man bellowed, "Ready, Ai-"

"Hold up!" Carapace interjected, cutting the Chief of Police off. "You're going to fire at him? He gets bigger every time you hit him. You're only going to give him more power."

"Don't forget, he still has Myl- that other girl in his other hand, too. You were planning to shoot him with her still in danger?" Rena added, sounding flabbergasted.

"Listen, kids, you tried your best last time, but you're obviously not up to the task. Leave this to the professionals."

"Oh yeah, sure, dude. We're going to leave it to the professionals who want to sacrifice a fourteen-year-old girl," Carapace retorted sarcastically, earning an elbow jab from Rena.

"Don't call the Police 'dude!' We're heroes! Be more professional!" She scolded.

"Rena,  _dude_ , does that really matter right now? They're-" Carapace began to bicker, not in the mood for her weirdness, when Stoneheart began to choke and hack up a large black butterfly that fluttered up and perched itself on top of the Eiffel Tower.

"PEOPLE OF PARIS," an imposing voice boomed from the butterfly, "I AM HAWKMOTH, WIELDER OF THE BUTTERFLY MIRACULOUS. I AM THE ONE WHO HAS CAUSED THIS. RENA ROUGE AND CARAPACE- I REQUIRE THE MIRACULOUS OF THE LADYBUG AND BLACK CAT. SURRENDER THOSE AND YOUR OWN MIRACULOUSES TO ME, OR WATCH AS PARIS IS DESTROYED."

"Dude, what? Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses? I don't know anything about that?" Carapace shouted up at the butterfly, confused.

"Even if we did know where or what they were, we wouldn't give them to you, you villain! We're going to take your miraculous off your hands!" Rena added, before taking the megaphone out of the Chief of Police's hands. "People of Paris, listen up! No matter what the cost, my sidekick, Turtleboy and I wi-" Carapace cut off Rena's speech by snatching the megaphone away from her.

"I am  **not**  her Sidekick, my dudes. My name is Carapace, and yes, we will protect Paris, no matter wh-"

"Give that back, Shelly!" Rena tried to yank the Megaphone back, but Carapace held a firm grip

"Stop telling people I'm your sidekick! We're either partners or nothing at all!"

"Oh, like I'd be partners with someone incapable of not including 'dude' in every sentence!"

"Dude, neither of those sentences contained the word 'dude!'"

"WHAT WAS THAT, THEN?"

"LOOK AT YOUR BRAVE HEROES, PARIS! NOTHING BUT A PAIR OF SQUABBLING CHILDREN!" Hawkmoth cackled from the butterfly.

"We'll show you what a 'pair of squabbling children' can do! Carapace, NOW!" Rena retorted, seeming to momentarily forget her fight with Carapace as she refocused on the task at hand.

"SHELTER!" he cast, creating a large green turtle shell-shaped dome to cover the area surrounding the Eiffel tower, effectively keeping the Stone Beings away even as Stoneheart was calling them to his side.

"MIRAGE!" Rena wasted no time using her own power, causing Mylène to vanish from sight. Stoneheart immediately began to freak out.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MYLÈNE?" The akuma roared, opening the hand he held her in, unknowingly dropping the girl and the akumatized item all at once. In a flash, Rena slid underneath the beastly akuma, successfully catching the invisible girl and the akumatized item. Carapace had to admit, when Rena wasn't being completely insufferable, she was pretty impressive.

"Yo, Shelly! I have Mylène and the akumatized Item- can you get the akuma on the Eiffel Tower?" Rena called over, letting her Mirage drop and carrying Mylène over to the police.

"I got it, dude!" Carapace yelled back, dropping Shelter and grabbing the nearest thing he could use to contain the akuma -a trashcan- and launching himself up towards the large akuma. Before the pesky insect could flutter away, Carapace grabbed one of its wings and swiftly stuffed it into the trash can. He noticed from his birds-eye view the Stone Beings disappearing and assumed Rena had broken the akumatized item. Keeping the trashcan secure so the akuma couldn't escape, the Turtle-themed hero leaped down to the ground, walking over to where Rena stood. He noticed a plastic, cheez-it filled baggy containing the akuma and let out a sigh of relief. One less thing to worry about.

"You got the big one?" She inquired.

"Totally, dude. You got the small one?" He shot back, to which she responded with a nod.

"Cool. I'm heading off, and you should too. We're both about to transform back," Carapace gestured to her beeping necklace and his own beeping bracelet, "But I want to let you know that I'm not super into the idea of working with you in the future, dude. I'm more of a Nightwing than a Robin."

"You know what? Ditto. I can't work with a DC fan. Hope I don't see you too soon, Turtleboy."

"Right back at you, Lucy."

"Lucy?"

"Yeah. Short for Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. I think it should be your new name." Carapace smirked, watching Rena's expression contort into one of rage, before hopping away to detransform.

"HEY! SHELLHEAD! GET BACK HERE!"

* * *

Carapace found an empty alleyway to detransform in, just in the nick of time. He had no idea what to do with the evil-filled trash can he was lugging around.

"Yo Wayzz, dude, what do I do with this?" Nino asked the kwami as soon as the transformation dropped.

"You'll have to bring it back to the Master. He has another kwami, Tikki, who can purify it. I can guide you to his dwelling, but first I'll need to recharge. You'll need to transform back into Carapace when we get close, since Rena Rouge still has the other akuma. You can't let your secret identity be discovered by anyone." Wayzz informed him, perching on the lid of the trashcan.

"Sounds cool, dude. Um… I have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich back in my locker. Is that okay?"

Wayzz gave a disappointed sigh. "Yes, that will suffice."

* * *

Rena Rouge fiddled nervously with the bag holding the akuma as she stood outside an apartment door, in a building she'd never been in, in a part of town she was unfamiliar with. After her newly declared rival had been so rude, Rena had leaped away herself to detransform back into Alya. She bought Trixx a bag of spicy chips to recharge on, and Trixx had led her to the apartment while the kwami snacked. Having just retransformed to protect her identity, Rena hoped she wouldn't run into Carapace. She should've told him to hand over his trash can. It would have made everything easier.

"Ah, good. You're here." The opening of a door and the voice of an elderly man broke through Rena's thoughts.

"It's, it's you! From yesterday!" Rena exclaimed, pointing a surprised finger at the old man, who chuckled.

"Yes, Alya Cesaire, it's me. Very good. You may detransform, Carapace just left. You don't have to worry about running into him. Come, there's someone I want you to meet." The old man informed her. Nodding, Rena Rouge let go of her transformation. Alya followed the old man inside the apartment, with Trixx trailing closely behind her.

"Tikki, you have another guest," The old man called. No sooner did he do so did a red kwami came loop-de-looping into the room. Bright red and loosely resembling a ladybug, this kwami had to be the cutest thing Alya had ever seen.

"Yes, Master?" The new kwami, Tikki, answered.

"Our friend, Alya, has brought you another treat. Could you take care of it, please?" The old man told her. Tikki nodded resolutely, before turning to face Alya.

"Hi, Alya! I'm Tikki! It's nice to meet you. Could you release the akuma from your bag, please?" Tikki requested, giving the brunette a polite smile. Alya nodded in return, opening the ziplock bag and allowing the dark butterfly to flutter out of it. No sooner had it escaped, however, did Tikki swoop in and swallowed the akuma whole. After a few moments, the kwami burped, releasing a pure white butterfly into the air.

"That's not at all what I expected to happen," Alya admitted.

"It never is," Tikki laughed, "It's a much more refined process when a miraculous wielder does it."

Alya was about to respond, when her cell phone began to ring. Excusing herself, the brunette pressed the 'answer' button and held the phone up to her ear.

"Alya? Are you okay? Where are you?!" Marinette exclaimed. Alya flushed, embarrassed- she'd almost forgotten about tonight!

"Oh no, Marinette! I'm so sorry! When chasing Stoneheart, I got lost. I'm on the other side of town. I'm a little lost." Alya half-lied to her new friend, feeling a little guilty.

"The important thing is that you're safe, right? Do you still want to come over? If you can find a street sign, my Papa could come to pick you up." Marinette suggested, relief lacing her tone.

"That sounds good, I'll text you the streets I'm next to. See you soon, Bye!" Alya pressed the 'call end' button, before turning to face the old man and the little bug kwami.

"Um, my friend is really worried about me. I told her I'd hang out with her tonight, so I have to go now," the brunette informed them somewhat awkwardly.

"Go on, your work here is done, Mademoiselle Cesaire. Have fun with your friend."

"Thank you, Master! See ya!" Alya bade farewell cheerfully.

"Yeah, bye Master! Bye Tikki!" Trixx followed in suit, giving her fellow kwami a small hug before following her charge out the door.

* * *

The next day, Alya headed into class early. Expecting to be alone, she was surprised to find Adrien Agreste's deskmate already in his seat. All the better- she wanted to introduce herself to him. Plopping into the seat formerly claimed by Chloe, Alya tapped the boy on the shoulder.

"'Sup dude? Can I help you?" The boy asked, taking his earbuds out and turning to face her.

"Yeah! My name's Alya. I just wanted to tell you I thought it was really cool how you went to help Ivan yesterday morning."

"Ah, uh, thanks. Chloe can be pretty mean, and I, I didn't want him to be upset, considering the stuff he'd gone through. The name's Nino, by the way." Nino replied, seeking somewhat flustered from the compliment. Alya giggled; he was cute. There was no way she wasn't going to befriend this boy. After a pause, he offered one of his earbuds to her.

"Um, wanna listen? It's Jagged Stone's newest album," Nino offered. Alya nodded, accepting the earbud and listened with him. The pair sat and listened together for ten minutes or so until other students began to steadily trickle into the classroom. Adrien slid into his chair next to Nino, and the two boys shared a fist bump.

"Hey, um, I'm sorry about the gum thing yesterday, I promise I-" The blond began when he noticed Alya sitting at the desk behind him. Alya waved his apology off and offered the boy a friendly grin.

"I realize now what happened, it's alright! You don't have to worry about me. Maybe you should try to talk to Marinette later, though. I know it really upset her. My name's Alya, by the way." Alya offered her obviously nervous fellow newcomer and friendly grin, which he returned.

"Good job, Alya! You're doing amazing!" Trixx whispered from inside Alya's hair, which the brunette chose to ignore. She wasn't about to get caught talking to her hair again. That was majorly embarrassing.

"Thanks, Alya. I'm Adrien. I'll be sure to explain the situation to Marinette later today." He replied, visibly happier.

"Huh, speak of the devil. Marinette! Girl, over here!" Alya called her friend over. Marinette smiled and waved at Nino and Alya, but as expected, gave Adrien no more than a deadpan expression before sitting down next to Alya.

"Don't worry dude, she'll come around." Alya heard Nino comfort the blond as she and Marinette discussed their exploits from last night.

"Dupain-Cheng? You're in the wrong seat." Chloe sneered as she walked into the room. Alya shot the blonde girl a deadly glare and Marinette opened her mouth to lay into her, when to their surprise, Adrien spoke up.

"Chloe, just leave them alone. You don't own that seat. You can sit across the aisle from me." He told the blonde firmly, who gasped at his outburst.

"But Adrikins, I-"

"Chloe." Adrien gave her one last meaningful look, and the blonde let out one more melodramatic huff and flounced over to the empty desk. Alya noticed a large orange ribbon decorated the blonde's ponytail today. Weird. The brunette turned to point it out to her friend, but stopped when she noticed the raven-haired girl staring off with a dreamy expression.

"Girl, are you okay? You look like a space-cadet," Alya nudged Marinette, who jumped out of whatever daydream she'd been in.

"O-Oh? Yeah, I'm fine, it's just- that what pretty cool, wasn't it? Adrien telling Chloe off like that. Maybe he's not so bad." Marinette whispered back, her face flushing at the mention of the blond boy. While Alya would have thought it cooler if he'd let them stand up for themselves, she could tell the gesture had made huge waves with Marinette. Watching her friend drool over the Agreste model, Alya couldn't help but chuckle to herself. This year was going to be interesting.

_EPISODE TWO FIN._


End file.
